Author Archive
Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
Filed under: Handsets, RIM, BlackBerry OS
The last video we posted of the Storm 2 doing its SurePress thing has been unceremoniously pulled from YouTube, but this new video really makes up for it. It turns out the screen uses piezo electronics to detect pressure at any point on the screen, instead of the all-or-nothing click button on the Storm 1, and our video host was kind enough to explain this in painstaking detail in the video embedded after the break. The screen actually stiffens when it’s off or locked, and has a sort of spongy give to it when alive. He also confirmed in no uncertain terms the GSM and CDMA versions of the device will be packing WiFi. According to his Twitter account, we should be expecting a video about the OS soon as well.
[Thanks, Kristjan]
Continue reading Video: Storm 2’s new touchscreen tech explained with mindblowing clarity, WiFi confirmed
Video: Storm 2’s new touchscreen tech explained with mindblowing clarity, WiFi confirmed originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: berry-storm, BlackBerry, blackberry os, blackberry storm 2, engadget-mobile, messaging, storm2, surepress, touchscreen, video
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Saturday, August 22nd, 2009
Filed under: Software, RIM, BlackBerry OS
Lackluster Gmail support has been a real pain point for BlackBerry users, and we’ve really been hoping that this new “Enhanced Gmail Plug-in” would solve all that. It’s out as of today, and we’ve certainly gotten some improvements, like support for archiving messages, marking spam and managing labels / stars. Unfortunately, these new management features are only live synced one way, from the phone to the Gmail server, so many of the actions that take place desktop side won’t be reflected on the phone once that particular message has been picked up by the BlackBerry Internet Service. There’s also the small problem of installing the thing: we haven’t been successful so far on two different BlackBerries, and you have to make sure to uninstall the existing Gmail Plug-in. Meanwhile, in BlackBerry Enterprise Server land, the Google Apps Connector has now gone live, which means Google Apps users get push Gmail and what seems to be much tighter Exchange-style syncing. Let us know if you get either of these things working with your particular setup.
[Via Boy Genius Report]
Read – Enhanced Gmail Plug-in now available
Read – Google Apps Connector for BES now available
Enhanced Gmail Plug-in for BlackBerrys arrives, but only syncs one way originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: accessories, BlackBerry, browser, games, googleapps, googleappsconnector, phone, syncing
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Saturday, August 22nd, 2009
Filed under: Handsets, Apple
Not to knock cellophane tape as a method for in-car iPhone navigation, but if you want to use the new TomTom app in a more proper setting, you’ll want the official TomTom car kit. In addition to enhancing the GPS signal and charging your iPhone, it’s also got hands-free dialing and a speaker that’s (presumably) better than the phone solo for giving directions. At a rumored price of just under $200 with software, it’s not a bad deal if you were planning to shell out $100 for the US maps, anyway. We’re still on the fence, but the hypnotic soundtrack of the promotion video is admittedly alluring. See for yourself after the break.
[Thanks, Arthur]
Continue reading TomTom’s iPhone car kit promo video is enticing, but still no mention of price or release date
TomTom’s iPhone car kit promo video is enticing, but still no mention of price or release date originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: accessories, Apple, carkit, dock, engadget, engadget-mobile, iphoneapp, iphonedock, messaging, mobile, turn-by-turn, turnbyturn
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Friday, August 21st, 2009
Filed under: Handsets, ATT, Apple
Well, that was fast. Just one week after hitting the scene,
Qik for iPhone 3GS has been updated to move that nasty “WiFi only” restriction, meaning you can now stream your videos to the internet over a 3G network. We just tried it ourselves and, sure enough, it works like a charm. After you’ve read through all that
FCC literature, hit up the read link and download the (thankfully still free) app — just be careful how much fun you have with it this weekend. Let’s see how AT&T’s network handles this one. [Warning: iTunes app link.]
Qik for iPhone 3GS update removes ‘WiFi only’ restriction, 3G streaming is a go originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: browser, features, games, handsets, iPhone, iphoneapp, Linux, messaging, network, podcasts, video, video streaming
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Friday, August 21st, 2009
Filed under: Software, Android
While Apple was busy batting away the FCC with its litany of reasons why its app approval process is totally hunky-dory, Google was apparently having it’s own VoIP-related firefight. It seems that an article in the USA Today which hit newsstands this morning alleges that the internet giant sought to block (dare we say reject) a full Skype application from making its way into the Android Market. The story claims that the application was neutered to become “a watered-down version of the original that routes calls over traditional phone networks” — which would obviously cast a decidedly malevolent slant to the benevolent company’s policies.
The story is surely fine fodder for a FUD enthusiast up to that point, but it appears (gasp) that USA Today may have gotten one minor fact wrong. Namely, that Google had any unsavory aim to clip the wings of the Skype app. According to company man Andy Rubin (on Google’s Public Policy Blog), the “lite” moniker was only attached due to technical limitations of the Android platform. In his words:
Here are the facts, clear and simple: While the first generation of our Android software did not support full-featured VoIP applications due to technology limitations, we have worked through those limitations in subsequent versions of Android, and developers are now able to build and upload VoIP services.
As we told USA Today earlier in the week Google did not reject an application from Skype or from any other company that provides VoIP services. To suggest otherwise is false. At this point no software developer — including Skype — has implemented a complete VoIP application for Android. But we’re excited to see — and use — these applications when they’re submitted, because they often provide more choice and options for users. We also look forward to the day when consumers can access any application, including VoIP apps, from any device, on any network.
Note the jab there at the end? Okay, swell. Of course, even if Google had rejected the app outright, users still could have installed the software through other avenues, as the Android Market is only a suggestion — not a mandate — for how consumers should acquire apps on Google’s platform.
[Via TechCrunch; Image courtesy eBoy]
Read – Google-AT&T-Apple fight over Net calls draws FCC interest
Read – Android and VoIP applications
Google refutes USA Today report on blocked Skype application originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: Apple, culture, engadget, messaging, network, Nokia, rumor, voiceoverip, VoIP
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Friday, August 21st, 2009
Filed under: Handsets, ATT, Apple
Whoa — we were just sent AT&T response to the FCC’s investigation into the rejection of Google Voice apps from the iPhone app store, and Ma Bell isn’t pulling any punches: according to the letter, AT&T “had no role in any decision by Apple to not accept the Google Voice application.” That puts the ball pretty firmly in Apple’s court, but it doesn’t close the door on AT&T’s involvement in App store approval shenanigans entirely, since the letter also says “AT&T has had discussions with Apple regarding only a handful of applications that have been submitted to Apple for review where, as described below, there were concerns that the application might create significant network congestion.” Not only did that result in CBS and MobiTV killing the Final Four app’s ability to stream video over 3G, it also explains what happened to SlingPlayer Mobile — we’ll see what the FCC says about that.
Update: And here come Apple and Google’s responses as well! We’re digesting everything as fast as we can, we’re going to do this semi-liveblog style after the break, so grab a frosty and dive in.
Update 2: Okay, so we’ve read through all three filings and broken them down after the break. Our main takeaway? Apple’s being pretty hypocritical by claiming on the one hand that the iPhone is at the forefront of a mobile revolution and then saying iPhone users can’t figure out how Google Voice is different than the iPhone’s built-in functionality on the other. Either your customers are paradigm-busting visionaries or they’re not very smart at all, Apple — you have to pick one. As for AT&T, well, it just seems like it’s worried about its network above all else, and while we think it’s ridiculous that it enforces the VoIP and SlingPlayer ban on the iPhone and not, say, Windows Mobile devices, we can see why the carrier would push those contract provisions hard. In the end, we’re just hoping the FCC forces everyone involved to be more open and transparent about what they’re doing and the deals they’re making — Apple’s not necessarily exaggerating when it says these are entirely new problems, and whatever happens next will set a precedent for a long time to come.
Continue reading AT&T, Apple and Google respond to the FCC over Google Voice and the iPhone App Store
AT&T, Apple and Google respond to the FCC over Google Voice and the iPhone App Store originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: App Store, Apple, appstoreapprovalprocess, AT&T, breaking-news, browser, fcc fridays, games, google-voice, googlevoice, messaging, player-mobile, review
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Friday, August 21st, 2009
Filed under: Handsets, Software, Apple
We’re always a little hesitant to get too optimistic about changes to the
App Store approval process, but it looks like there’s been a few
hopeful changes to the way things are done in the past few days, which could well lead to some previously rejected apps becoming available. Perhaps the most encouraging sign is that Apple seems to actually be going back through rejected apps and contacting develops to resubmit their app (without any changes, mind you) for an “expedited review.” One such app is the Start Mobile Wallpaper Gallery, which was rejected for using Shepard Fairey’s famous “HOPE” image of Barack Obama on the grounds that it “ridicules public figures.” In other App Store news, the developer of the officially-licensed C64 emulator also says that it was contacted by a senior director at Apple, who reportedly said that there was “BIG news coming,” but didn’t elaborate any further. But, really, is there any news
bigger than a C64 emulator?
Read – TechCrunch, “Apple Continues To Right App Store Wrongs. Obama “Hope” App Is Go.”
Read – MacNN, “Apple reconsidering C64 Emulator for iPhone?”
Apple reconsiders rejected iPhone apps, C64 emulator on the way? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: App Store, c64 emulator, c64emulator, culture, engadget, engadget-mobile, iPhone, podcasts, rejected apps, rejectedapps
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Friday, August 21st, 2009
Filed under: Announcements
It’s coming originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: accessories, Apple, browser, culture, engadget-mobile, fcc fridays, games, messaging, News
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Friday, August 21st, 2009
Filed under: Handsets, Others, China Mobile, Android
The O1 isn’t even out yet, but a new filing with China’s regulatory folks suggests that Lenovo’s already hard at work at a lower-cost version that would swap out metal bits for plastic ones and kick the camera down from 5 megapixels to 3. On the plus side, buyers still make out with 8GB of internal storage and quite possibly China Mobile’s homegrown Android skin, so it can’t be all bad, right? Then again, this remix could be for a different carrier altogether, in which case we might be spared Open Mobile System’s uncomfortably iPhone-esque home screen — and really, that’d be just fine with us.
Lenovo’s O1e takes the O1 down a notch or three originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: china, china-mobile, chinamobile, culture, engadget, engadget-mobile, fcc fridays, games, handsets, Lenovo, mobile, o1e, oms, openmobilesystem
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Friday, August 21st, 2009
Filed under: Multimedia, RIM, Verizon Wireless
If you want to watch live hockey games played by NHL teams not owned by RIM’s Jim Balsillie — that would be all of them, by the way — you need look no further than the warm glow of your Storm’s display now that Verizon has brought its V CAST Video service to the device. Starting today, users will be able to download a dedicated VCAST Video application to their Storms, bringing a host of feature-length and live programming that makes us thank our lucky stars for high-limit data plans. Sure, it’ll set you back $10 a month and kill productivity — but isn’t wasting money and time what life is really all about?
V CAST Video comes to Verizon’s BlackBerry Storm originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: accessories, BlackBerry Storm, blackberrystorm, browser, network, RIM, Storm, v cast video, vcast, Verizon, Verizon Wireless, verizonwireless, video
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